"You sound like a robot....try asking these questions instead"
Thing is, any alternative questions will then start to sound robotic too: I already receive plenty of cold-call emails that try to mimic a more authentic voice.
Agreed, and I think those fall flat because they are trying to hide the fact that they're automated. There's nothing wrong with automation—just don't try to lie about it! Personally, I favor direct conversations over automated research. Even at smaller scale, it's just way more useful.
Like many here building our own businesses, I had to learn the hard way how to do customer research—on my own. I wrote this as a short summary of what I've learned. Thanks for submitting it!